We will rise early and after breakfast we will begin out on the trail. We’ll hike for roughly 4 hours to the highest pass of the trek, Dead Woman’s Pass (4215 meters/13829 feet). On reaching the pass, we’ll stop for a short break to enjoy the views before setting off again to descend to the next valley (Pacaymayu Valley – Hidden River). It’s another hour and a half down the side of the valley to our lunch spot. After lunch, we begin ascending again to the second pass of the trek. It’s 2 hours over the pass where we will stop at a small Inca site (Runcu Raccay).

After the second pass, it’s another downhill hike to reach the magnificent Inca site, Sayacmarca. Afterward, we will be able to watch the sunset over the Vilcabamba mountain range. It’s then just another 20 minutes until we stop for the night at our second campsite (Dry Lake, 3600 meters)

For some, this is the toughest day of the trek – with a long day of trekking ahead of us – we rise early, to make the most of the light setting out just after an early breakfast. The trail is steep in places, and mostly steps – we are rewarded with the Inca ruins of Runcu Raccay peppering the route. 

Walking on a well-preserved Inca pathway, it takes us another 2 hours before we reach the Sayacmarca ruins, which is one of the highlights of the trail. We will then continue along the ridge, up to the Puyupatamarca ruins. Our descent begins downhill on an ‘Inca staircase’, which is steep and winding, after 2-3 hours the trail brings us into the cloud forest and the outstanding site of Winay-Wayna, which means “Forever Young” , which we explore before heading into our camp. The evening will then conclude with a group dinner before we get some much needed sleep.